Domestic Violence Restraining Order

    This concerns Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and how they can be used to get an advantage in trial and custody in a divorce case. 

    If someone successfully gets a Domestic Violence Restraining Order in a case where there is a child involved, then the person who was asking for Domestic Violence Restraining Order receives a 3044 presumption of sole custody. This means the person who is protected by the restraining order has the absolute power to decide important decisions regarding the child, and the other side may or may not receive supervised visitation. 

    This is one advantage of a DVRO.

    The second advantage is that the person who receives the protection from the Domestic Violence Restraining Order can potentially be off the hook for paying spousal support. 

    Unfortunately, Domestic Violence Restraining Orders are sometimes used to get advantage in litigation. I really want to clarify that falsely petitioning for a DVRO can, for people who are not truly victims of domestic violence, cause serious trouble for individuals making accusations of abuse for purposes of getting an advantage in court. I had a case in San Francisco where a party’s plan to acquire a restraining over based on false accusations backfired so much that the person who actually filed the restraining order lost custody of the child. 

    This is a warning before filing a restraining order to think about your true motive. This is not to discourage people who are victims of domestic violence abuse to file for domestic violence motion, but actually for people who are not sure and are trying to get advantage.


    Share this Post